Too Late?
by Cariah Delonne
Summary: Jareth goes aboveground to reinstate his offer to Sarah, only to find he's miscalculated the difference in time between Aboveground and the Underground.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing *cries* not even Jareth. Again – But I Wish I Did! But no – there is nothing I own…. And I'm a poor student, so don't bother to sue me…. But as a birthday present, can I have Jareth – please???

**Too Late?****  
By Cariah Delonne.**

Chapter One  
  


A good part of a century had passed Aboveground, whilst to the Fae in the Underground, no more than ten years had passed. Time was of no consequence in the Labyrinth – it slowed and sped up to fit the needs of the inhabitants. 

Jareth lounged on his throne, lethargically stretched across the arms, his legs elegantly crossed. He tossed a crystal absentmindedly, and caught it each time with a flick of his wrist. It seemed that almost every moment, another foolish mortal would wish away another of their young to his realm. None had been recovered since Toby Williams had been rescued by his sister. 

Sarah – Sarah – the name had haunted him for what had seemed like months, until he had once again become immersed in the desperate plights of foolish mortals who dared to try to conquer his Labyrinth. Of course, none captured him as much as that young, naïve girl with the raven hair and innocent eyes, but _she_ had long ago left his realm and put away all her thoughts of the Labyrinth and its king. She had not called upon her friends for some time either. 

"I wish the Goblins would come and take you away – right now!" Yet another mortal foolish enough to take the words for mere myth interrupted his thoughts. Well – they would regret that. 

*****

Sarah Kearley was a widow in her late sixties. It had been half a century since she had wished away her little brother to the Labyrinth – it seemed an eternity ago. A lifetime had passed since then. She had met John, married, had two children and lived in a suburban house happily for over forty years. It was all gone now. Her children had moved away – had families of their own; John had died of Cancer. She felt so terribly alone. Toby had died a few years ago – a nasty bout of pneumonia had finished him off – he had never married. Her parents were long dead – Karen and her father had only been apart for a little over six months before her father had joined her. 

Her mother – she had died too – before any of the others. That had been the beginning. 

Since she had run the Labyrinth, Sarah's relationship with her stepmother had improved rapidly. Understanding between Karen and her stepdaughter had led her to continue into adulthood in a relatively peaceful manner. Acceptance had become a part of her, much as she was beginning to accept death. 

She rarely thought of that strange night over half a century ago – she had never questioned is reality, and she had taught her children and grandchildren to fear the Goblin King and his realm. Life wasn't fair. She knew that harsh reality now. She understood it – she understood it with the knowledge that only one who has lived a long time can understand. She did not envy the young – if she were to return to her youth, there would be only one dream she would wish to fulfill, and she did not believe she had the courage to chase it. Jareth. 

Sarah stepped up to the mirror, and took in her lined face. So long ago, she had patiently applied lipstick in the hope she would appear more mature. Now she occasionally did the routine to make her look younger. Oh, the irony. 

Swallowing her resolve, Sarah whispered into the mirror, "Hoggle? Sir Didymus? Ludo? Are you there?" 

Within moments, the trio appeared beside her, the same as she remembered them.   
"Sawah?" Ludo moaned, confused.   
"Yes, Ludo – it's me. I've grown old. I'm sorry…" 

"Fair maiden? Is that really you?" Sir Didymus questioned. Hoggle merely grunted sourly.   
"You never called," he reprimanded, not commenting on how she had changed. 

Sarah smiled fondly at the dwarf, and was soon lost back in her childhood with her old friends. 

*****

Jareth looked in the crystal with confusion. He knew who they had gone to see, but he could not see her… he could not get the crystal to show her to him. Growling in anger, Jareth smashed the crystal and disappeared to the aboveground. 

He appeared moments later in Sarah's room, to cold silence. 

"Your Majesty…" his subjects said reverently, before disappearing at his scowl.  
"Bye-bye Sawah," Ludo said mournfully. 

Sarah did not look at him, but turned away, walking towards the window overlooking the park.   
"Look at me Sarah," Jareth commanded.   
She turned slowly, her old defiance reappearing in her eyes as she held his gaze. She was old, older than he thought she would be – had so much time passed without his noticing? 

"Why are you here Jareth?" she said quietly, "Have you come to gloat over me – to show me what could have been had I taken your offer?" 

Jareth looked at her sadly. That had not been his intention, but it certainly looked as if it was – he struggled to rectify it. 

"No, Sarah," he said tenderly. "I did not realize…" he struggled for words. "My offer is still open, should you wish to reconsider," he finished abruptly. 

Sarah laughed. "Do you honestly think that I regret my decision? Yes, I am old, but I have lived a full mortal life, I have loved another as an equal – something you could never have offered. I regret nothing Jareth." 

He was taken aback. She was old – and after such a relatively short life, she was content? This was madness. He shook his head sadly, reminiscent of his gaze as she had stubbornly declared she would run his Labyrinth, and faded out. 

A/N: Ok, so this is random, and I just got this idea, so I started writing it. I haven't finished my other one (I've hardly started) but I'm still going, I promise! Anyway, Adieu! (and Review please!) =D Cheers,   
~Cariah. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing *cries* not even Jareth. Again – But I Wish I Did! But no – there is nothing I own... And I'm a poor student, so don't bother to sue me…. But as a birthday present, can I have Jareth – please???

A/N: I received reviews! *grins*. Thanks to Nimhithriel, Daemon faerie queen, Fire-Maze-Dweller and lise carew.   
This was _not _going to be just a one-shot – I have more planned, it's just getting around to writing it! 

**Too Late?****  
**By Cariah Delonne.

**Chapter 2**

He was gone. Sarah shook her head in wonder at the now empty space of wall where he had been moments before. He had not changed. Conceited and arrogant, he expected everyone and everything to bow down before him. She never had, and she was not, at the tender age of 68, about to start. 

*****

Sarah wandered sadly around her room, packing the last of her belongings. A rest home. Of all the places they dared to put _her_ of all people – _she_ who had defeated forces that most people preferred to believe did not exist. When she was younger, they had said she was an 'amazing storyteller,' and 'able to create worlds beyond any normal child's imagination.' 

Now, it was different. She was getting old. She knew, by the way her body shrank and bulged in places it hadn't ten years ago. She knew, by the way her voice shook on occasion, and her hands refused to respond. Now, she was no longer a legendary storyteller of children's stories, but an old eccentric. Someone to be locked away, in a rest home full of people who could barely remember their name from breakfast to lunch. _Old people._

Yet, she was Jareth's equal. No lifetime of immortality could have taught her that.  

She hauled a box out of the wardrobe. She did not remember packing this box – neither would she have put it into the wardrobe where it was likely to be forgotten. Curiously, she opened the lid. 

Slam! Upon seeing its contents, she knocked the box shut again, her heart beating fast. Her childhood, her dreams, toys and costumes, packed into one, singular box. Why had it not been thrown out? Perhaps she hadn't been able to. It was one thing to lock your childhood away, to forget, but yet another to burn it – she had lived it, survived it – whether she liked it or not, her childhood was a part of her. Along with all the unpleasant things that went with it. 

"Reminiscing, Sarah?" came an arrogant voice from behind her.   
She growled in displeasure. "Jareth," she sighed, "Do you not understand that you have nothing left to offer me? You have nothing at all to make me return to the Labyrinth – nothing to make me even want to remember you, and your kingdom. I will forget, in time." 

Jareth laughed. "Oh, but Sarah, I do. I always have. You never could comprehend – you could never understand that there _is _something that I can hold over you. Your dreams." Mockingly, he held out a crystal, just as he had those long years ago. *…but, if you turn it this way, it will show you your dreams…*  
"Do you wish to leave? Leave this house, your home, for an institution?" 

"I would wish to go anywhere to escape you and your _Labyrinth_!" she said angrily. 

A look which resembled anger passed over his face, but he suppressed it, his eyebrows raised as he smirked at her. "Watch your words Sarah," he reprimanded her haughtily. 

Bristling, she reached out to strike him. Catching her hand deftly, he spun her around, her back pressed up against his chest, his arms entangled around her. The scenery changed, as if the house had never been there at all.   
They stood, in the middle of nowhere, derelict trees and shrubs dying in the late afternoon sun. Sarah was reminded sharply of countryside surrounding the entrance to the Labyrinth.

"Don't you understand Sarah," he whispered. "Do you not understand what I am offering you? A lifetime – a whole other lifetime – to do as you please! I can restore your health, your age, to resemble whichever part of your life you want." 

Sarah slid out of his grasp and faced him angrily. "Do you honestly think I would fall for this again? After you already tried to offer it to me and I declined in favour of a mortal life? Ought I have the right to a mortal death too?" 

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Sarah…" he muttered, "You miss my point…" he gestured towards her face. Reaching up, Sarah traced where familiar lines had once been. Now her skin was smooth – as smooth as she remembered from her prime, at least forty years ago. 

"No Jareth," she said strongly. "I know you – I know the conditions. I would never, could never, love you  – and I fear you, oh yes, as much as I hate to admit it, I fear you," Jareth grinned momentarily, "But I could never combine the two. You ask too much. You know nothing of love, Jareth. You cannot fear the one you love." 

Sarah turned and walked away. Within a few steps, she had reappeared in her own living room. 

Jareth looked around him in disgust, and angrily disappeared into thin air. 

*****

A/N: R&R please!!  
~Cariah. =D


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing *cries* not even Jareth. Again – But I Wish I Did! But no – there is nothing I own... And I'm a poor student, so don't bother to sue me…. 

A/N: Sorry -  I have writer's block on my other fic – I _did _know where it was going, but I can't make up my mind, so I'll just wait and see what my mind comes up with *grins*.   
Thank you so much to reviewers… RE Vegeta, if-666, Nimhithriel, Daemon faerie queen, LabyLvrPhyx, sheena, scifimimi and Xelena. =D You guys rock, and I'm glad you seem to like it – sorry if it doesn't seem to make much sense yet!  
~Cariah. 

**Too Late?****  
**By Cariah Delonne.

**Chapter 3**

Two years passed aboveground before Sarah even thought of Jareth again. 

It was a quiet sunny morning, she was on the small balcony her room allowed her – alone with a treasured book and the day stretching ahead like a glorious summer break. 

The rest home was not wholly bad – sure there were disadvantages – small rooms, _old _people, and often the meals lacked somewhat in interest. However, she no longer had to do any major cooking or cleaning, and if she should feel in the mood, there were plenty of other people her generation to converse with. It was not such a lonely life, really. 

Jareth occasionally watched her, his owl form sometimes arousing a little suspicion in other residents – flying in the middle of the day. Sarah, however, never noticed him. He was determined to watch her closer this time, she was so… so… _old, _it scared him to think that one day he might appear to an aboveground devoid of all but her memory. 

Her words cut him, "You cannot fear the one you love," and his thoughts often returned to both that night, and the one a half-century ago. Perhaps this was why, even then, she had refused him. Perhaps even then, she had been able to comprehend something like love – a concept he had, in all his years of study and reading, failed to grasp. 

On this particular morning, he watched her with curious eyes. So much had not changed – still stubborn, still independent and defiant, as she would remain to the last.

On this morning however, he was not going to let her evade him. She could not leave this plane of existence without first realizing something vital about him. He did not lose. After fifty or more years, he was not about to admit defeat. 

Sarah looked up from her book as a shadow seemed to fall over the world. Indeed, as she watched the sky, she realized the sun had been completely blocked by heavy clouds – strange weather for the middle of summer…

"Strange weather, for the middle of summer, isn't it Sarah?" came a satirical voice. She looked up in time to see Jareth as he changed into his human form.   
"I should have known," she muttered. 

He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Sarah," he admonished, "For all your years, you simply do not comprehend subtle things…" he swept his hand around him to take in the landscape. 

Silence greeted her. 

Her mouth formed a silent O, and she looked at him questioningly. She was in no mood for a battle of wits.   
"Jareth," she sighed, "Why are you here? I thought we decided I did not want to play your games."   
Jareth smirked, "No, dear Sarah. _You _decided. And now, someone else has decided for you." He took her quickly into his arms, and in a flash they had disappeared, leaving behind reality and sense for the third time in her life. 

*****

Upon reaching dry land, Sarah spluttered angrily. "How dare you! You have no right!" 

Clicking his tongue disapprovingly, Jareth turned to face her. "You know very well, Sarah, I have rights to do many things. I have the right to take mortals from the aboveground at my whim, I have the right to demand that any I deem worthy of traversing the labyrinth, may be offered the challenge. I have the right to blackmail, I have the right to be a King. You would do well to remember that." 

"But… but I have said nothing – done nothing!" 

Again, he smirked, watching her with amusement as one might watch a small child try to do a jigsaw puzzle. "Sarah… do you honestly think that the only method of transportation here is by that _silly _little book? That I would place the welfare of my kingdom on one, singular, _story_?_"_

Sarah looked at him, shocked. It had never occurred to her that there may be other ways. "And what have I done?"  

Again, he laughed. "Nothing Sarah – that's my point – you don't need to _do _anything. When you first came, _you _wished your brother away – therefore _you _set the main rules – the rules in that silly book applied – I had no power over you besides that which it offered me. I would have thought, since you stuck to the intentions of the heroine so faithfully, that you would have understood that."  Her expression told him she hadn't. He laughed. "Now, I am not bound by any book, or any rules – _I _chose to bring you here – you are here under _my _conditions. I have power over you that I never had before."  

She frowned, and her hands reached up to her face, where once again, the lines had been wiped smooth. Tenderly, his hand came to meet hers. She pulled away as if she had been burnt. Her eyes hardened, and she accepted her fate. She would have to play his game – she would have to play by his rules. Last time, he had been… _generous… _in his terms _- _but had that been the book?

"For the last time Sarah," he whispered in her ear, "Take my offer – your dreams, on a golden platter – you know the conditions…" she shook her head obstinately. Sneering, he waved his hand, and she found herself standing in the midst of the glass ballroom. "It will not be offered again…" his voice trailed off as the dancers swirled around her dizzyingly. 

She fainted. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing *cries* not even Jareth. Again – But I Wish I Did! But no – there is nothing I own... And I'm a poor student, so don't bother to sue me…. 

A/N: Wow! I have lots of reviews! =D Thank you all sooo much! 

One of the questions that almost everyone is asking me, is *why* isn't she taking him up on his offer? The main reason is that in this fic, Jareth is cruel, and Sarah knows it so she isn't about to give in to ballroom fantasies – yet Besides, it would be a very short fanfic if she just said "Okay!" There will eventually be some J/S, but it's not going to be soppy…  
The other question I keep getting, is whether Sarah is older/younger/what happened to her? She is the same age (late 60's), yet appears physically younger – about 23 in appearance. You're right if-666, if she wasn't young, then it would just be weird! But I wanted her to have a little wisdom that only age can teach. 

Thanks to all who reviewed – Daemon faerie queen, Xelena, sheena, wolfariusorca, if-666, Rach6, Cherokeelady, scifimimi, Amythest Angel… =D.   
~Cariah. 

**Too Late?****  
**By Cariah Delonne.

**Chapter 4**

Sarah woke with a smarting headache. There was a pounding in her ears that would not subside, and her mind swirled with the last things Jareth had said to her. What _had _he meant? So he wasn't going to offer her a series of foolish dreams any longer? Why did that give her a sense of foreboding? They were, after all, only dreams – dreams she had refused many times in favour of reality…

She squeezed her eyes shut. 

Her thoughts had run away with her, leaving her body to do as it wished, including the relatively normal function of waking up. Somehow, she felt as if she was not waking up, but re-entering a dream.

"Jareth!" She hissed, upon realizing her strange surroundings were no dream.   
He appeared within moments, his mouth twisted into a satisfied smirk. 

"Why – why am I here?" she demanded, her eyes hard and cold. 

Unperturbed by her manner, Jareth replied simply, "That is where you fell. I thought it would do you no harm to stay here." 

"It's an oubliette! Tell me, Jareth, how do people fall from seemingly dry, solid land, into a dark, musty, hell-hole such as this?"   
He looked midly affronted at her description of his oubliette, but merely shrugged. "I wonder at you asking me – it was not _I_ that fainted. _I_ did not prescribe where you were to fall."  
He disappeared. 

Sarah growled in frustration at the empty space where he had been only moments before. 

Remembering how she had escaped the oubliette last time, she called quietly, "Hoggle? Are you there?" 

"Now, now, Sarah, no cheating!" Boomed a voice around the chamber, and Sarah swore, her hands clenched at her sides.   
"Mind your manners…," he stated mildly, his voice trailing off into the thick blackness. 

Some hours later, Sarah was still searching for the hidden door – or rather, she was trying to convert it from the broom cupboard into the hidden passage she had once followed Hoggle into. So far, she was having no luck, as endless brooms and dustpans, feather dusters and polish kept tumbling out onto her awaiting feet. 

*****

Jareth watched her from his tower window, through a series of crystals, as she struggled with the door. He smiled at the futility of the effort – every time she opened the 'other side' of the door, he would snap his fingers, and the passage would transfer to the opposite side. Then _Snap,_ and it would be the opposite, as she opened the would-be exit once again. _Snap. _Open door. Close door. _Snap._ Open door. Close door. _Snap_.

He smirked to himself.  

*****

Sarah was becoming frustrated. She knew _he _had something to do with this. 

"Things are not always what they seem in this place…" 

Perhaps he didn't have anything o do with it… perhaps she was just letting her imagination get the better of her. Going against the pattern of opening the opposite sides of the door, as she had been for the past few hours, Sarah opened the same side twice in a row. Jareth, not completely paying attention, swore when he saw what she'd done – what he'd let her do. 

He frowned, and contemplated what to do next. She made her ay through the faces of rock, all warning her in the gravest tones to "Turn back" "This is not the way" and other such pleasantries, but she ignored them, and continued through the Labyrinth. Traditionally, this was where he made his appearance. Traditionally, if the victim had gotten this far through the Labyrinth, they would not survive to see the hedge mazes.   
Sarah had. 

Knowing where the Labyrinth would lead her, were she to follow her previous footsteps, and knowing where she would be if she did not, Jareth gave the crystals his full attention. He would not appear- the traditional hero, the romantic villain. He would leave her, watch her, let her form her own opinions of his intentions. He knew that her imagination would be up to the task – that she would be able to place him in any position other than that which he really was. 

A/N:  Sorry this took so long! Please R&R!!  
~Cariah


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing *cries* …nothing…*cries some more* 

**Too Late?****  
**By Cariah Delonne. 

**Chapter 5**

Sarah scowled as she retraced her footsteps, trying to find her way to the old man, with the irritating bird-hat. There was no Hoggle here, no-one to share her thoughts with, and she was certainly not going to speak out loud for Jareth to mock her. 

Finding herself in the warrens below the Labyrinth, Sarah scowled into the dim depths of the tunnels opening up before her. Reminded vaguely of aboveground sewers, she wrinkled her nose in disgust and took a tentative step forward. 

Spying her move from his position above her, Jareth raised his eyebrows in surprise. She was being cautious. Very cautious. Certainly not a precaution she took in her last visit to his Labyrinth. "Well well Sarah," he muttered to himself, "Perhaps you have grown a little after all."

*****

Not hearing his soft words, Sarah frowned at the numerous openings before her. There had not seemed so many options on her last visit, _Although_, she thought wryly, _I was running at top speed at the time. _

_Would you go left or right?  
They both look the same…  
Shows what you know don't it._

The words drifted to her from nowhere, and she looked again at the tunnels. Of the five openings before her, two were less moldy, less derelict than the remaining three. She sighed. Although those tracks were more used, it did not help her predicament. They could be used for both good and evil purposes. The tunnel she and Hoggle had fallen through into the Bog of Stench wasn't moldy either. 

She swore under her breath, and took the cleanest tunnel, the one nearest to her. She prayed the Labyrinth had no lower levels she could fall into. She had spent most of her thirteen hours last time falling into unseen holes and trapdoors. Falling into the oubliette, into the Bog, out of the crystal… she shuddered. Bubble baths had lost all of their magic after that night. 

Walking down the musty tunnel, Sarah dwelt more than ever on that night, and on the events which had led her to the castle, to Toby, and towards reality. In the midst of a fairytale region, she had found the importance of reality, something she had shunned from an early age. 

*****

"Is there a time limit on this?" Sarah called out to the empty air as she finally pulled herself out of the tunnels. She gazed around in shock as she took in the great stone walls of the Labyrinth – the ones she assumed she had already passed through. 

Jareth watched her expression with amusement. The dumbfounded look of shock at finding herself further behind in the Labyrinth made him smile in glee.   
"Something wrong?" he enquired sweetly. 

Sarah turned sharply on her heel to find Jareth cross-legged on the wall, staring down at her with glittering eyes. "Time-limit?" she repeated, forgetting about her change in position within the Labyrinth. Stupid, naïve girl, to think that it would be the same. 

"No Sarah, this is not a race. This is a battle. You have already heard me offer you all that you could have had if you forfeited. But no – you did not care for my generous offer." He looked almost sad for a moment. 

Sarah watched his expression. He had not changed from her last meeting with him, the look of contempt he had given her remained, and his appearance had not changed – she doubted if he had gained one line on his face. 

Frustrated with games she did not understand, Sarah sighed. "So am I to make it to the castle at the center, or claim a jewel, or rescue some lost soul? What do I have to do to go home?" 

Jareth laughed. "I like the sound of the last challenge Sarah…" his voice resonated around the Labyrinth and she turned away from where he had last been. 

"Always needs to have the last word," she muttered, "and what better way to have it than to disappear so there is no-one to argue with him."

Jareth laughed. "If thinking that makes you feel better Sarah," he said to himself. Kicking goblins out of the way, he made his way towards the throne room. "Bring me that blasted dwarf! Hoghead, or whatever his name is!" Jareth made a point never to get a name correct. It made creatures feel like they meant something if people remembered their names. 

The dwarf in question waddled into the throne room moments later, to find Jareth stretched luxuriously over the throne, riding crop lazily tapping his ankle.   
"Ahhh.... Higgle…"   
"Hoggle," the dwarf croaked.   
"Whatever." Jareth smiled indulgently. 

A/N: Ok, well, yes. This has taken me ages! I know where I want to end up; it's just getting there first!   
Thank you all sooooo much for your reviews!  
In most of the Laby fanfics I've read, Sarah comes to an understanding about Jareth's personality and how he ticks, but I'm going to try and accomplish the opposite. In some ways, I don't like Sarah, but I do like it that she isn't going to change because someone told her to, or because someone was arrogant enough to think he could offer her her dreams. I want Jareth to understand that in this fic, and ultimately, an understanding between the characters.   
Perhaps even a happy ending…  
Please Review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. It's all Jim Henson's… all of it… 

**Too Late?****  
**By Cariah Delonne.

**Chapter 6**

"What do yer want?" the dwarf said obnoxiously to his monarch. "I've tended every garden in the Labyrinth, and still yer not happy?"   
"Shut up Higgle," the Goblin King said disdainfully. "I did not bring you here to listen to your incessant whining. Indeed, considering the circumstances, I thought your punishment rather lenient."   
Hoggle glared in return, but did not reply. Jareth smirked. "Still not forgotten about that pretty little mortal? A pity. But, I have something to show you…" he gestured towards his left hand, which lazily twirled a crystal around his fingers. Inside, Sarah stood, looking around the stone walls of the Labyrinth in bewilderment. 

The surprise and anger of the dwarf was just as he had anticipated, and he sneered contemptuously at the attempts to threaten him. Lazily, he tapped the riding crop against his ankle, waiting for the tide of insults to wash over him.   
Scowling at Jareth, Hoggle watched as he lounged over his throne. He wore his arrogance like a mantle, his anger simmering just beneath the surface. Hoggle went silent at the expression of jaded anger on the King's face.   
"Are you quite finished?" came the monarch's bored tone.   
Hoggle didn't meet his eyes, but nodded sullenly. It had been years since he had been quite so angry – Hoggle hadn't seen him quite so angry since _she _defeated him. And now she was back. 

"Wha… Wha… what are you gonna do to her?" he stammered.    
Jareth laughed, cold and cruel. "I'm going to teach her Haggle. I'm going to teach her that to truly defeat someone you have to understand what you are saying, to understand what you are doing. She understood neither. I'm going to show her that I know exactly what the consequences of my actions will be for her, and that I will act upon them anyway. I will destroy her, and _you _will play a part." His laughter echoed around the Labyrinth.

*****

Sarah froze when she heard the laughter, but shook her head and kept moving. She was beginning to tire – her legs were sore, and she was hungry – she didn't remember feeling quite so exhausted last time she had come through here, but then again, that had been fifty years ago hadn't it? Besides, Jareth had said it himself, it wasn't a race, it was a battle. She didn't even know where she was supposed to be headed. 

Wearily, Sarah slid her back down the wall, landing at the foot of the stone with a soft thump. She refused to play this childish game any longer. For an immortal, Jareth was just a spoilt brat who liked his own way above anything else. 

"What is she doing?" Jareth hissed. The crystal shattered against the wall as he hurled it in frustration. Hoggle ducked and the goblins all ran to the other end of the room, as far away from their monarch as possible without actually leaving his presence. 

Sarah's image in the crystal seemed to waver and fade, to be replaced with her appearance as it was in the aboveground. Lines returned to her face, and her hands became less deft in their movement. 

Angry, and forgetting his plan with Hoggle, he exited the throne room and appeared by her side. "Just what do you think you are doing?" he spat. 

Sarah looked at him insolently. "I'm resting Jareth, isn't that obvious. But I am afraid this spot just suddenly lost it's appeal." She stood and turned to walk away. 

"How dare you turn your back on me!" he said quietly, his anger emanating from his soft voice. Sarah heard his tone and paused in her step. 

She turned back to him, her head raised confidently. "I dare Jareth, because I can. I always have defied you, and I always will. Do not expect me to take part in your games. You lost." 

Jareth's anger burned in his heart, and his eyes flared. "Sarah…" he warned. "Take another step, and you will regret it more than those foolish words. And you will regret them." 

She took another step, and another. 

"I am not afraid of you, Goblin King," she taunted. "I am no longer fifteen. You are no longer the romantic villain you once posed as in my childhood. You may have power over my stay here – but you have none over me, or my actions. Some things have not changed." Sarah turned the corner, and ran straight into him. 

He watched her, as she stepped back, and he advanced with every step she moved away. Sarah felt her back press against the cold stone, and Jareth moved a final step closer. He dominated her, towering above her, cold and angry. There was no amusement in his eyes as he glared down at her, and Sarah felt the first prickling of fear.

"Despite being four times the age of when we last met Sarah, you seem to have gained little wisdom." 

Noticing the change in her body, as he wiped her face clear of all the lines gained by age once more, Sarah hated him with passion. His words bit into her, and she spat in his face at the insult, ducking away underneath his arm as he cried out in anguish. 

Before she had taken two steps, the world was swirling around her, and her third step found her in a room she had never laid eyes on before. 

Glancing quickly around, she found it was a bedroom, one end lined with books and amusements, the other with a bed, closet and a door she soon found led to a bathroom. There was no exit door. No way to get out. 

"Jareth…" she growled. "Where am I?"   
His voice echoed above her. "In your new chambers… I hope they meet your standards," he said mockingly. "You may not be leaving them for some time. Until you decide to stop acting like a fifteen year old girl, for instance." 

Sarah glared around her as his laughter scornfully echoed, before fading away, leaving her in silence. 

*****

A/N:  Okay, so a little clichéd, I know, but hey! It's fanfiction!! Please review, and if there's any suggestions, let me know! =D  
~Cariah. 


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